Hi Everyone!
I'm brand new to leather working and am enjoying it immensely; I took a class at the local Tandy shop with a great instructor. So now I'm in the (exciting) process of learning and making but I am at the point where I need more tools, hardware, and leather for some of the things I want to make.
I'm located in Halifax, Nova Scotia- so I don't have many options outside Tandy for purchasing things locally.
I'd love recommendations for places to purchase tools online- specifically I'd be interested in Canadian suppliers, or information from Canadians who have purchased from US suppliers (Springfield, Zack White, etc.) - I'm a bit wary about the brokerage and duty charges.
Also interested in places to purchase hardware- fasteners, snaps, etc. in bulk. - is Ebay worth it? I know many stores on there are shipping direct from China.
As for leather I've only been buying it in person at Tandy so far. I've noticed that within a specific type of leather each piece varies greatly in quality- so I've spent time looking through them all to find the best pieces. As such I'm wary of buying leather online since two pieces that are supposedly the same (at least in price) are very different. Is this specific to Tandy- or would this also apply to other stores as well?
I appreciate any input! Feel a bit like a fish out of water looking at all these different websites selling what looks like basically the same thing.
Cheers,
Kristine